The City of Kewanee has received a grant of $600,000 from the State of Illinois. According to a release from the office of Governor J.B Pritzker, the OSLAD or Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant is intended for the acquisition of land for parks and recreation project. Kewanee received a $600,000 grant as a distressed community, meaning that the grant is intended to fully cover the project that the City of Kewanee is planning to undertake. The distressed community designation is calculated using data from the Illinois Census and the Illinois Department of Revenue, considers an area’s poverty level and equalized assessed valuation (EAV). In FY 2023, as a result of the Department’s efforts, DNR awarded 25.5% of the OSLAD funding to distressed communities, up from 4.7% in FY 2022.
In a statement announcing the OSLAD Grants, Governor Pritzker stated “Today, I couldn’t be prouder to announce that IDNR’s OSLAD program is offering the largest round of grants in the history of the program — nearly $60 million,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The health and wellbeing of Illinoisans sits at the heart of the OSLAD program, and for the first time ever, we’ve been able to provide 100% of funding assistance to qualifying distressed recipients.”
“These grants will have a tremendous impact on communities, by improving and expanding parks and recreation areas that add texture and wellbeing spaces to be enjoyed by residents throughout the state,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “The historic funding for economically distressed areas reflects our commitment to investing in the livelihoods of Illinoisans, uplifting the needs of young people and families so they may thrive.”
WKEI RegionalMediaNews.com has reached out to Kewanee City Manager Gary Bradley for comment regarding exactly how the OSLAD Grant will be used by the City. OSLAD Grants first began being awarded in 1986 and have helped fund parks and recreation efforts in communities across the state. More than $530 million dollars worth of grants have been awarded since the beginning of the OSLAD Program.
